autoevolution
 

A Collector’s Insane Scam Story About Chasing a Rotting Lamborghini Miura SV in Brazil

Half the time, people get scammed not because they are stupid but because they trust too much. They say if a deal is too good, think twice. But what if the supposed ‘deal of a lifetime' came from an authority figure you look up to and respect? John Temerian of Curated TV was in such a pickle a couple of years ago. He came close to losing a lot of money trying to buy a rare Lamborghini Miura SV in the Brazilian jungle.
Lamborghini Miura SV 14 photos
Photo: YouTube Screenshot/VINwiki
Lamborghini Miura SVLamborghini Miura SVLamborghini Miura SVLamborghini Miura SVLamborghini Miura SVLamborghini Miura SVLamborghini Miura SVLamborghini Miura SVLamborghini Miura SVLamborghini Miura SVLamborghini Miura SVLamborghini Miura SVLamborghini Miura SV
It’s fascinating how car collectors get excited over a car with a history. We are not talking about Carfax history, but ownership history. Collectors will pay insane amounts of money to take possession of an ex-celebrity, ex-gangster, or dictator car.

In 2019, Swiss authorities sold a limited-edition Lamborghini Veneno Roadster seized from the son of an African dictator for a record-setting $8.3 million (close to twice its starting price when it debuted).

If anyone offered John Temerian a rare Lamborghini Miura rotting offshore in a jungle today – he’d take for the hills. Not too long ago, he almost lost a deposit he’d placed on a Miura SV in Brazil.

As the story goes, Temerian got wind of a rare Miura SV up for grabs in the Brazilian jungle.
Lamborghini Miura SV
Photo: YouTube Screenshot/VINwiki
We got a call from a very well-respected collector and dealer. I’d basically say he’s almost retired now, but this is someone that’s owned numerous Miura SVs and really is a legend in the industry,” Temerian told VINKwiki on their Car Stories series.

Temerian is a huge Miura enthusiast and admits that Curated TV has owned about eight to eleven Lamborghini Miura SVs.

Picture this, only 150 of these rare Italian sports cars were ever produced. According to Temerian, about 120 exists now, making them a highly sought classic. For the Curated TV founder, the Brazilian jungle find was a ‘deal of a lifetime.’

The renowned collector was a close friend of his dad and was well respected among collectors in the American industry. There was no way the deal was a scam.
Lamborghini Miura SV
Photo: YouTube Screenshot/VINwiki
He basically said, you know, I’ve got a relationship with this gentleman in Brazil. I’ve got a relationship with the owner. The father died, the son is now taking possession of the car, and the car is basically in pieces,” Temerian explained.

Fortunately, Temerian had a contact person in Brazil, an ex-intern who’d for him a couple of years ago but was at the moment stationed in Brazil. He went and checked out the car, and sure enough, it was real – but in a desolate condition.

According to Temerian, the Brazilian Miura SV was literally in pieces and the worst state of disrepair. Anyone in their right mind would have called off the search at this point. But he decided to push on.

Here’s the deal. Temerian’s love for the Miura SV didn’t start as an adult Curated TV. His dad owned one of these classic Italian sports cars in the day, and as a kid, he grew fond of the car to the point it became the cornerstone of his business.

Temerian began negotiations for the car and settled for a figure between $1 and 2 million. All he had to do was send in a deposit to lock up the car, wait for the owner to put the classic back together, and send it to the port.

A month went by, and things started getting shady. Temerian was losing his patience, and at one point, his ex-intern stationed in brazil was turned away from the premises where the car was being stored, trying to check on the progress.

It gets sketchier. Unaware that Temerian was in the middle of purchasing the Italian classic, a broker off Brazil started sending him more pictures through Instagram of a Miura ( the same Miura) but asking for more money.

At this point, Temerian is convinced it’s a raw deal and contacts his collector friend to tell the Miura owner that they are not moving forward with the agreement and would like their deposit returned.
Lamborghini Miura SV
Photo: YouTube Screenshot/VINwiki
A few weeks go by, and our deposit arrives in the form of a wire. Now, I almost didn’t want to believe that the deposit just arrived back because it was sort of sketchy how everything went down. So I just sort of accepted it and said, okay, thank God we got our deposit back,” Temerian confessed.

As the story goes, the Brazilian owner had also sold the car to another Texan dealer, who’d sold it to someone else while still in transactions with Temerian. Simply put, he had no intention of selling the car and was raking in deposits with the promise of shipping it to potential buyers.

Temerian is lucky to have gotten his deposit back, but something at the back of his mind tells him he got scammed. Only his American collector friend refunded him back his Brazil deposit (initial wire transfer) to save his reputation.

Curious if the Texan dealer eventually got the Miura SV? We recommend catching the rest of the story in the video below.

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Humphrey Bwayo
Humphrey Bwayo profile photo

Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories